Pozen to redomicile as it agrees to buy Tribute Pharmaceuticals

June 8 (Reuters) - Specialty pharmaceuticals company Pozen
Inc said on Monday it would acquire Tribute
Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc for about $144 million, in a
deal that would shift its domicile to Ireland and cut its tax
bill.

The merged company, to be called Aralez Pharmaceuticals Plc,
will focus on cardiovascular treatments and be led by Adrian
Adams, who previously served as chief executive of men's
healthcare-focused company Auxilium Pharmaceuticals. Auxilium
was acquired by Endo International Plc for $2.6 billion
last year.

Adams became CEO of Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based Pozen
just one week ago, after founder John Plachetka retired. Pozen's
primary drug, Yosprala, is a so-called "safer form" of aspirin
designed to reduce gastrointestinal side effects.

As part of the transaction, a group of investors including
healthcare investment firm Deerfield Management and Canadian
biotech company QLT Inc will invest up to $350 million
in growth capital for Aralez.

Adams' history intertwines with that of QLT. As CEO of
Auxilium, his efforts to acquire QLT in June 2014 were thwarted
after Endo made an unsolicited offer for Auxilium.

Pozen's deal with Tribute is the latest in a series of
politically controversial "inversions", in which a U.S.
companies can lower their tax rates by shifting their domiciles
abroad.

The U.S. Treasury Department announced a series of steps
last September designed to make inversions more difficult and
potentially less rewarding. Several high-profile deals, such as
U.S. drugmaker Abbvie Inc's $55 billion acquisition of
Dublin-based Shire Plc, were canceled as a result.

"Clearly we are very familiar with the broader environment,
but we believe the nature of the transaction at this particular
point in time will withstand any speculation in the future,"
Adams said in an interview.
Continued...